On January 26th the Alameda County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the Good Food Purchasing resolution, championed by Supervisor Wilma Chan, to assess how the county’s food purchases align with the Good Food Purchasing standards. To kick off this process, The Center for Good Food Purchasing will meet with the staff from the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office and Probation Department, and any additional county departments  who choose to opt into the Good Food Purchasing Pledge. The kick-off meeting will serve as an orientation before the county embarks on the four key steps in implementation:

1. Assess Baseline – Participating departments, with support from the Center for Good Food Purchasing, analyze their food purchasing records to assess how well they align with the Good Food Purchasing standards. This allows the departments to understand their current purchasing and how representative they are of the 5 Good Food Purchasing values– local economies, nutrition, valued workforce, environmental sustainability, animal welfare. 

2. Set Goals – Once the departments have a clear picture of their current food purchases, they can explore opportunities to shift purchasing to better align their with the Good Food Purchasing standards. 

3. Track Progress – Departments will complete an annual assessment of purchases to track progress towards their goals. 

4. Celebrate Success! – Reflect on collaboration, achievement of goals, and continuing the work with stakeholders.

By working together on this important initiative, Alameda County is one step closer to understanding how well our food purchasing supports a healthy, local, sustainable and fair food supply chain.